The Treaty of Peladon
by Ichabod Ebenezer
Summary: Nth Doctor part 12 of 12. The Doctor is back after months of absence, and he wants to take Pandora to one of his favorite planets, Peladon. He's been asked there to negotiate a treaty, but alongside old friends, a more recent enemy has appeared. Is the Doctor up for the fight of his life? Or is he going to need some help with this one?
1. Peladon

Pandora needed a break. Her eyes actually hurt from looking at textbooks for so long. She picked up her glass of lemonade and brought it to her lips before realizing it was dry. All the ice had melted long ago, and she'd drunk the meltwater too. Wondering how much time had actually passed, she looked at the clock, which didn't immediately come into focus. She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

Yup, four hours since she sat down. She stood up and took her glass back into the kitchen, realizing along the way that her tailbone had fallen asleep. She chuckled and filled her glass with ice from the fridge.

She opened up the fridge and pulled out the pitcher of lemonade. This made her chuckle again. Back in her days on the Tardis, she would have simply used the tap marked 'Lemonade' that sat between the one marked 'Earl Grey', and the one marked 'Buttermilk'. But that was months ago. When a group of aliens bounty hunters had kidnapped the Doctor, and he had gone away willingly.

She poured her lemonade and put the pitcher back in the fridge. Maybe that was unfair, but that's how it felt to her. She'd replayed it all in her head many times, and she was still unsure how long the Doctor had been working his own agenda, in the guise of helping out. The whole time? Maybe. There had been signs from the moment they left Puerto Rico, but that was probably only him rebelling against being treated like just another part of a team.

What would he have done if left to his own devices? He'd have taken that initial probe back onboard his Tardis, that much is sure. He'd have run his scans there and found out exactly what it was. If it had started broadcasting its position, he probably would have brought it far from Earth. The Earth would probably never have been attacked… Well who can say? But it's possible. And she would have probably been with him.

She took a sip of her lemonade and turned to look out the window. There was a squirrel making a mess of their bird feeder again. She watched it balance precariously on a device specifically designed to thwart it. Rather than stuffing the seeds in its mouth though, it was scattering them across the poorly mown lawn to be picked up later.

Is that what really bothered her? Not that he was taken, but that he went without her? She didn't think so. He believed it was too dangerous, and she trusted his judgement. But he was so adamant that no one made his decisions for him, and he had no problem making that decision for her. It was a little hypocritical. And of course, he hadn't come back.

She turned back around to look at her makeshift study station. The couch, which wasn't for sitting on, but for back support; the table, with her box stashed beneath it, and books open on top, with notes carefully arranged just so; and the carpeted space between, where she sat criss-cross with her clipboard on her lap, scribbling equations and solving for Delta t.

This is what she was left with. Solving for time instead of traveling through it.

She'd once wondered aloud if Marie Antoinette had really said that bit about cake, and the next thing she knew, they were in the Court of Versailles. Of course, she couldn't write any reports on the bit about Terileptils inciting riots amongst the working class with their 'emotion amplifier', but it was amazing nonetheless.

She sighed heavily. Alright. The break is over, she told herself. She didn't know if the Doctor would ever come back to whisk her off on another adventure, but until then, she had papers due on Wednesday.

Then she heard it. That unmistakable sound of the Tardis, echoing and groaning as it ripped through the time vortex to materialize in her reality. Her heart rate doubled. Speak of the devil, she thought.

She looked around for the source of the sound, and quickly realized where it was landing when she saw her carefully laid notes start to fly off in all directions. "No, no, no, not there!" She ran into the living room and set her drink down on top of two piles of notes, then began running around the room, chasing down the ones that were still airborne. "Wrong place, wrong time, Doctor!" she shouted, as the amazing blue box set down between table and telly.

The rest of her papers settled down, notes and answers, jumbled together. She turned and angrily faced the Tardis.

The doors flew open, and the Doctor leaned out, a broad smile on his face, and his psychic paper in his outstretched hand. "Peladon!" he said triumphantly.

"Or, 'Hello, sorry for the mess,' as they say in this time," Pandora said furiously.

The Doctor frowned at her. This was clearly not the response he had expected. He looked at his psychic paper and then tried again. "Peladon!" he said, somewhat less triumphantly.

"Fine then. What's a Peladon?" Pandora asked, setting her papers down on the couch.

"It's a planet, far off in an independent wedge of space on the border of the Earth alliance in your distant future. But that's not important right now. I have a long history with the ruling family going back generations, and I've just intercepted a communication requesting that I broker a new treaty there. There'll be a feast like you've never seen, and a castle with secret passages, and Aggedor! I can't wait for you to meet Aggedor."

"A treaty negotiation? You're gone for months, without so much as a note, and you come back to take me to a treaty negotiation?"

The Doctor's outstretched arm dropped to his side. "Months? I… hadn't realized. I'm sorry. I must have neglected the temporal drift rectifier… But anyway, I'm here now. And it won't be boring at all! Not if any of my previous visits are any indication."

"Yes, months," Pandora said. She gave him a moment to respond, but it looked as if he might apologize again, and she suddenly felt like she couldn't stand that. "How have you been, Pandora? What's been going on in your life these past months, Pandora?" she asked on his behalf. "Well thanks for asking. Worried about you at first, but I settled down into a routine, like you do, when you're stuck here day after the previous day. I've started college. I haven't declared my major yet, but it's going to be physics and astronomy. Oh, and I'm making a bit of dosh on my blog. That's helping to pay for things."

The Doctor slumped. "Look, I did say sorry. I haven't been in a good place lately, and I wouldn't have been glad company. I needed some time away to clear my head and remember what's important. Why we do what we do. For a while there, it just didn't seem worth it. Even when I was winning, it felt like a loss. But then this came to me!" He held up the psychic paper again. "I managed to snatch it before it filtered down through my past lives. This is truly a blast from the past. A place of memory and intrigue, where the good I've done was never tainted! Come with me, Pandora! Grab your box and come away with me, it will be just like old times."

A bit of that glee that he'd had when he first popped out of the box was back in his eye. Pandora saw it, and had to admit that this was just what she'd needed for some time. Now she could see that he had too. A smile began to creep onto her face. "Okay," she said, "But — I have questions about Mercury's orbit and frame dragging, and I expect you to answer them."

The Doctor's own smile widened. "Done," he said and stepped aside to allow her entry into the Tardis.

Pandora vaulted the couch and reached under the table to pick up her box. She stepped into the Tardis with it. "'A bad place?' Was it worse than where you were when I first met you?"

"In many ways, yes," the Doctor replied. He closed the door and ran to the console, failing to elaborate further.

"But somehow you didn't realize that months had passed," she persisted.

"Months had passed for _you_. Remember, I was operating in a different relative dimensional frame." He hit the lever to engage the engines.

"So, how long was it for you? How long were you alone with your darkness?"

"I didn't exactly time it," he said, hedging. "A while."

"Less than months? More? Weeks? Years? Ball park it for me."

The Doctor stood silently with his hands resting on the console controls, not looking anywhere in particular. In a voice barely audible, he finally said, "Decades."

"Decades?" Pandora repeated incredulously.

"Yes, decades," the Doctor said, turning to face her. "I gave them every option out, like I always do, and just like always, they didn't take it. So I did what I had to do, and ended up being responsible for an entire galaxy as a consequence. I couldn't just leave them alone. Their entire economy was based around indentured servitude and a single product. And _I_ took that away from them. It wasn't the people's fault, and I had to make sure they didn't suffer for it. But no matter what I did, there was always suffering somewhere."

"So, your telling me that if I had gone with you, I'd be older than my mum now?"

Her intent was to make the Doctor smile, and it worked. He was immediately lifted from his melancholy. He stared at her for a while, smiling, then laughed genuinely, and said, "Pandora, I have missed you. Hugs?"

"Hugs," she confirmed. She set her box down and walked up to him. They embraced warmly. "At least I knew you were alive. Osgood came by and told me that you and Kate were back, having dealt with the Droge. She took me and my mum on a tour of the Tower of London. She says she works there, but hours passed and I didn't even realize, and we never got to see her office. It would've been nice."

"Hmm," the Doctor said. "You should've insisted. Next time."

* * *

Pandora threw open the doors, eager to set foot on another new world, once again. She was hoping to see a fairy tale castle on a hill in the distance, but she was disappointed. "You said castles and secret doors, not caves and torches." She had changed into a velvety, blue hoop dress with lace brocade over the bodice, and a matching lacy hairpiece. Now she hiked up her dress, worried about getting the hem muddy.

The Doctor poked his head out. "Ah! Pinpoint accuracy. Do you smell that? A layer of saltiness under everything, and a layer of wet dog over the top of it? We're in the mines beneath the castle. Trisilicate ore, the hardest salt in the universe, and the basis of a lot of the technology of this time. The planet is rich with it."

"And the wet dog?"

"That would be Aggedor. The pen must be right around here somewhere." He stepped outside and locked the door behind them. "Still got your key?" he asked.

She lifted the chain around her neck.

"Good, now let's see if we can find her." He stepped around the Tardis and oriented himself. There were passages leading off in several directions. "Aggedor!" he called loudly.

An animalistic roar answered him, and he smiled, pointing toward a nearby passage. "There!"

"What the hell is Aggedor? A dragon?" Pandora asked, fearfully.

"No! Come on, Pandora. Dragons? Really?" He looked at her, disappointed. "Dragons are from Svartos. Aggedor is more of a pig-bear… thing. You'll see. They used to worship him around here, back in their more superstitious times. He was considered mythological, almost like your Bigfoot. Fierce and territorial, but with a gentle demeanor, if you know how to access it."

They stepped through the short passage, with Pandora clinging to the Doctor's arm. "There she is!"

The hairy, brooding beast stood up and faced them as they stepped into the chamber. It had a pig's snout, tusks protruded from it's lower jaw, and a single curved horn in the center of its forehead. It wasn't clear whether it's eyesight was good enough to see them, but it surely knew they were there, possibly by smell. It let out a terrifying roar and headed straight for them with clawed talons outstretched.

"Now what was that song he used to like so much?" the Doctor said thoughtfully.

"You keep switching gender! Are you sure you know this thing?" Pandora said, close to panic as Aggedor grew nearer, roaring.

"Ah yes!" the Doctor said. He cleared his throat and held one hand outstretched with his palm open toward Aggedor. He began to sing what sounded like a lullaby. "Klokeda, partha mennin klatch…"

Aggedor immediately responded. It's growls were replaced with a sort of snuffling noise, and it approached them more eagerly, in a comical sort of gait, almost as if skipping, or more like, a sort of a straight-line waltz.

Pandora let go of the Doctor's arm and carefully stepped closer. She was smiling broadly now. "He's amazing!" she exclaimed.

"She," the Doctor corrected, and went back to singing gently.

Pandora clicked her tongue and stepped closer with her arm outstretched. "Are you sure this time?"

"The first one I met was male, and believed to be the only one. This one is female."

"So there's more than one, then?"

"See for yourself. Aroon, haruuhn, haroon…" he continued his song. He placed his palm on Aggedor's muzzle, then pet her affectionately.

Pandora could see that there was a sort of a nest in the far corner of the chamber, made from rags, rocks and food scraps. From the nest, appeared five child-sized copies of Aggedor. They approached curiously, but cautiously, and Pandora bent down to their height.

"My, how big they've grown," the Doctor said gently. "You must be so proud, mother."

The children seemed enchanted with Pandora's hair, particularly the one silvery streak. One of them tried to taste it, leaving Pandora giggling.

Almost as soon as they'd gotten there, the Doctor said, "We should go and announce ourselves. It won't do to keep the rest of the ambassadors waiting."

Pandora stood up, gently brushing off the clingy Aggedors, and they moved on to cling to their mother instead, giving the Doctor and Pandora the chance to slip away.

"You think the other ambassadors are already here?" Pandora whispered once they were out of Aggedor's chamber.

"Earth is the only delegation in the Galactic Federation that doesn't keep a permanent representative on Peladon. There's also the hexapods from Alpha Centauri, and the Ice Lords of New Mars, as well as the Arcturans."

"From Arcturus, I bet. Why doesn't Earth have a permanent delegate like the others?"

"Who can say? Either they don't think Peladon is important enough, or they just know I can get here at the drop of a hat." He shrugged.

They walked on in silence for a while until the Doctor stopped in front of a torch bracket that looked just like all the others they had passed. "Ah, this looks familiar." He pulled down on it, and a section of wall clicked, and swung toward them.

* * *

"The Doctor, and Lady Pandora of Earth!" the herald announced as they entered the reception hall.

Pandora took it all in, with a look of joy and wonder on her face. Just as the Doctor had promised, it was a medieval-style castle, with all the grandeur and pageantry that Pandora had come to expect from years of watching telly. Granite walls and pillars were draped in rich tapestries, and the windows were textured-glass, woven with lead strips. Wrought iron chandeliers filled with candles, lit the room from the vaulted ceiling high above. The smells of exotic fresh fruits and rotisserie meats dripping with juices filled the air, and servants in medieval finery flitted amongst the guests, offering every comfort.

The general noise of conversation only dipped slightly, but Pandora could see that their entrance got a lot of attention, as all eyes were on them. One of those eyes in particular took up the entire head of one avocado green creature, with six arms, and a plain, yet somehow ceremonial, full-length, yellow robe. The creature bowed slightly to its companion, and shuffled quickly toward them.

"Doctor!" it exclaimed in a comically high vice as it approached. It waved all six of it's claw-tipped arms excitedly.

"Alpha Centauri, my dear old friend! You haven't changed a bit!"

"Thank you, Doctor. But between you and me, neither of us is as young as we once were, are we? I'll admit, I've had a bit of work done around my eye, but there's something different about you too. New haircut, perhaps?"

The Doctor smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the arrival of another delegate. "Doctor," he said in a deep and angry-sounding growl. There were three of them, in thick, scaly green armor. The one in front wore a cape and a bullet-shaped helmet with a red visor that set him apart from the others in their scaly skull-caps. He placed one hand, which looked to Pandora like it belonged on a lego-man, on his chest in a sort of salute and inclined his head slightly. "I am Sslendak. I have heard much about you from my predecessor."

"An honor to meet you, Sslendak," the Doctor said, but was cut off again.

"Do _not_ expect me to extend you the same deference that he did," the Ice Lord hissed. "Understand that I will place the concerns of Mars first, not your _friendship_ , like he did."

The Doctor paused before replying. "I would expect nothing less, _Lord_ Sslendak." He gave the same curt bow that the Ice Lord had done before him, with his right fist over his chest.

Sslendak seemed satisfied by this, and bowed curtly to a spot halfway between the Doctor and Alpha Centauri, then the three imposing green men turned and marched off toward another section of the room.

"I see the Ice Warriors haven't thawed any since I was last here, old friend," the Doctor confided.

Alpha giggled in response, raising all six of his stubby arms up toward his face. He leaned in confidentially and said. "I'm afraid, Doctor, Ice Warrior has fallen out of favor again. The perennial 'Martian' is preferred. 'New Mars' is also out. They call their adopted homeworld simply Mars."

"No offense intended."

"Of course. Would you care for some refreshments?"

The Doctor bowed again, and leaned toward Pandora. "Try the wine. Best in this sector. Sparingly, of course."

Alpha Centauri signaled to a waiter, who came by with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. "Wine?" he asked. The waiter nodded and snapped his fingers. A servant girl was there momentarily with a pitcher and three goblets.

As the Doctor raised a toast, and made Pandora's formal introduction, she was looking past him. The most hideous creature she'd ever seen was gliding in their direction. There was a metal box, about the size of a washing machine, with some sort of liquid bubbling through clear pipes on either side, and a plastic dome on top. Inside the plastic dome was a small head, barely more than a skull, with green skin, staring eyes and bare teeth, and a mass of waving tentacles protruding from it, Medusa-like. Its quavering, mechanical voice emanated from an instrument panel on the front of its chassis. "Doctor," it said by way of announcement.

The Doctor turned toward it. "Ah, Arcturus. I was about to introduce my companion, Pandora, of Earth."

"Lady Pandora," the creature said in it's odd voice, reminding Pandora somehow of Stephen Hawking. Lights flashed across its instrument panel, though the head didn't move as it spoke. "Erimem, the queen mother is from Earth as well. Perhaps you know each other?"

"Erimem?" Pandora said. "No, I don't think so."

"Erimem," the Doctor breathed, a distant smile on his face.

Arcturus's environment support module turned toward the Doctor. "Since you knew the previous ambassador as Arcturus; an association that ended in treachery on his part, you may refer to me by my informal name, Doctor."

"Yes, of course. …And that is?"

"The Nobility of Styne," Alpha Centauri said.

"Yes," the Doctor responded. "Very informal, indeed. You know, it might help to differentiate your kind if you varied the vocal modulation. You sound just like him, I'm afraid."

"The modules are, sadly, standardized for efficiency. I hope you will not judge my species, and indeed, me, by the actions of one rogue individual, Doctor?"

"Never. I can't tell you how many times my own species has said those exact words regarding me," the Doctor said, smiling.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished dignitaries and guests," came the booming voice of the herald again. "King Pelagor of Peladon now grants audience. If you will please proceed through these doors…" He bowed and stepped out of the way, as two guards pushed open a pair of heaven wooden doors on the far side of the room. A servant was once again at her side with an empty tray, and Pandora set her wine glass down, untouched.

The Martian delegation rejoined them, and Pandora and the group of ambassadors waited for the room to empty. The nobility of Peladon filed through the door first to take up position in the throne room. Once it was only them and the waitstaff, light chamber music began, and the delegation walked down the aisle. The Nobility of Styne went first, setting the pace as his module glided forward on unseen wheels, then the Ice Lord and his bodyguards, then Alph Centauri, and finally the Doctor and Pandora.

On the throne sat a young man, perhaps a couple years younger than her. He had the same hair that all the locals seemed to, with radial black and white stripes, but his skin was dark while everyone else's so far had been quite pale. A simple crown rested on his head, and he sat stiffly on the throne, regarding each of them regally, as they passed in front of him, then took their spot along one wall.

Standing next to the throne was the king's identical twin. Pandora kept looking back and forth between them, but other than the crown on one's head, she could see no difference.

Pandora curtsied when she reached the front, and moved quickly to the right to stand next to the Doctor. He was leaning toward Alpha Centauri, and whispering, though Pandora could hear him well enough. "Twins? I didn't think twins ran in the royal family."

The hexapod leaned back toward the Doctor and spoke quietly in his high voice. "They didn't. Pelagor and Peltanan are the first in the long history of their family. We believe it is their mother, Erimem, who carries the gene."

"So, how did they decide which of them would be king? Or do they trade off when no one is looking?"

"The chief advisor was very concerned as well, when it was learned they would be twins. It was unprecedented, and he gathered the council. They met for five days, going over the ancient texts, and praying to Aggedor's Great Spirit for guidance. In the end, the only law they had to go on was that the first born male would be king. So when he was first out, Pelagor was marked immediately, before Peltanan was even birthed. That way there could never be any deception."

The music continued to play, covering the ambassador's discussion of the lineage of the king. The Ice Lord, Sslendak, leaned in to join them. "As time went by, it became obvious that this was an unwise decision. Peltanan proved himself both wise and capable, though Pelagor seems to be neither of those."

Alpha Centauri shushed the Martian ambassador, then leaned in even closer toward the Doctor. Pandora leaned in from the other side, and could barely make out his next words. "Sslendak may be indelicate, but he only says what everybody knows. The wisest thing that Pelagor has ever done was to appoint his brother as Chief Counsel."

The music ended, and the large doors at the back of the room boomed closed. The ambassadors straightened up, and the king addressed the gathered crowd.

"To the noble families of Peladon, to the Doctor, our long-time friend, and representative of Earth, and to our other friends and partners who have remained with us through the years: Welcome. Today we enter into a new era for Peladon, and for the Galactic Federation. As you are all aware, our planet's wealth of trisilicate has brought us prosperity, and the vast majority of our deposits are yet untapped. However, access points close to the surface become harder to locate, and as we dig deeper, we run into other issues that prevent mining the rich deposits still there."

His voice was week, and the king's demeanor was of someone nervous to be speaking publicly, but he spoke the prepared speech from memory, and forgot none of the words.

"Today we receive a new faction, which applies for partnership in the Federation, whom you will all be meeting at the feast. They propose to help us with our problem, and suggest there may even be a way to profit from it. An enticing prospect, but sometimes the details change the story, and I caution you all to enter these discussions with wisdom and consideration."

He paused, looking around the room, and his brother rested a hand on his shoulder. The king nodded. "Let us retire to the banquet hall. The feast awaits, and our guests will be joining us soon."

He stood up from his throne, and the large wooden doors that they had come in through, opened up.

* * *

The room beyond was transformed. It was brightly lit, with candelabra in every corner, and all along the sides. Running down the center of the room was a massive wooden table with carved figures of Aggedor at the corners. The table was heaped with foods of every sort, many of which Pandora didn't recognize, but sleeping rough for as long as she did taught her to eat almost anything, and everything here looked and smelled delicious. A trio stood in the corner, playing instruments that looked like a lute, a harp, and a fife. The music was both light and quiet.

A servant came over and curtsied to Pandora, then led her to a seat near the end of the table, pulling the chair out for her, then pushing it in once she was seated. Another servant filled her silver goblet with wine. She tried to take Pandora's box, but didn't insist when Pandora resisted. She placed her box instead beneath her heavy wooden chair. The Doctor was seated next to her, and the Martians next to him. The two seats across from her were left empty, and Alpha Centauri and the Nobility of Styne were positioned next to them.

Once everyone was seated, the king entered the room, and everyone stood up again. The king took his seat at the end of the table, next to Pandora, and his brother continued to stand at his right shoulder. As his chair was pushed in for him, the rest of the guests sat down once more. The king's goblet was filled, and he raised a toast. Everyone drank.

The Doctor was right. Though Pandora was by no means a connoisseur of wine, she found it quite pleasant. It was sweet, but no dessert-y, and it had just a breath of spice to it that she couldn't quite place.

The feast was also excellent. They brought her meat of a deep chocolatey-brown color in a sort of au jus, breads fresh from the oven, and course after course of vegetable, including something like rosy mashed potatoes. They never let her plate go empty. There was always more of something. Toward the end, there were nuts and candied fruits, one dish served flambé, and then there was dessert. She was stuffed already, but they brought pastries so delicate and beautiful that she just had to taste each, and lastly they brought out a pudding on a cart, which they scooped out onto plates and served to everyone. She felt she mustn't refuse.

After her first glass of wine got immediately refilled, she sipped carefully for the rest of the evening. Still, she felt quite pleasant as the meal wore on. The king also opened up a little, once the formalities were over and the meal had begun, and Pandora found him surprisingly charming, if a little shy.

Once the meal was complete, the food and the dishes were cleared, and the table cloth removed. Servants took half the light fixtures away, and the chamber musicians left.

"Tell me of your mining troubles," the Doctor said, leaning forward.

The Nobility of Styne began. "There have been delays in production, even as the demand for trisilicate grows."

"There have always been occasional delays," Alpha Centauri added, "Tunnel collapses, veins that peter out…"

"But now we've had to abandon plentiful veins due to toxic seepage, and even flooding," the Arcturan continued.

"Toxic seepage? What kind? Are the miners at risk?"

"Madame Velsine, of the Pursuit," the Herald boomed, interrupting their discussion.

The group stood, as a woman in a high-collared black dress entered the room. She had black hair with red highlights done up in a severe bun. Her dress was tight and lacy, down to the waist line, where it split, revealing deep red underskirts. It draped across the floor behind her as she walked briskly to the open seat. She stood with her hands on the back of the chair, while she surveyed the group through eyes painted dark by a streak of kohl from temple to temple.

"King Pelagor, it was our understanding that our meeting would be more… intimate."

"And the negotiations will be, I assure you," Peltanan said, placing one hand on the king's shoulder. It was the first time Pandora had heard him speak. "The nobility are here for the feast in your honor, which I may add, you were late for."

"My apologies, your majesty. Setting up our equipment took more… supervision… than I had initially allotted." She took her seat, and the rest of the group took theirs.

"Madame Velsine," hissed Lord Sslendak, "we have been waiting patiently to hear your proposal. Our patience is at an end. We know that you want entrance into our agreement here on Peladon, and you know of our problems. What is it that you offer."

"I appreciate both your bluntness and expediency, Lord Sslendak. Peladon's chief export is the trisilicate ore, but you can no longer reach many of the richest veins due to the large deposits of naturally occurring acid."

"Acid?" the Doctor asked, surprised.

Madame Velsine gave the Doctor a scathing look. It appeared she was unused to being interrupted. She looked him up and down. "Yes. Acid. The Pursuit has developed a means of safely extracting acid from mines, exposing more trisilicate for your miners to collect."

"Who is this Pursuit that you represent?" the Doctor asked. "I've been around the universe, and I've never met a species going by that name."

"The Pursuit is not a species, but a religious order, Mister…?"

"Not mister. Doctor," he replied.

"Doctor? Not _the_ Doctor?" her eyes narrowed, and a smile touched the corner of her lips. She leaned across the table and rested her chin on one fist. "I don't suppose you'd just tell me your name, right now, would you?"

Two figures, which Pandora hadn't seen previously, stepped out of the shadows behind Madam Velsine. They were tall, and dressed in black suits and thin ties. They had faces like elongated skulls with no mouths, and a sort of echoing rattle came from deep in their throats as they leaned across the table toward her.

Pandora gasped, drawing in breath to scream.

The Doctor jumped out of his chair and turned toward the king. "Silence!" he yelled.

A moment passed where nobody spoke. Everybody was too shocked to speak.

" _How dare you?_ " the king demanded.

The Doctor was mortified. "I'm so sorry. I have absolutely no idea why I said that. I humbly beg your forgiveness."

The king was shaking with rage. "You may be an ambassador, Doctor —" the king began, livid.

His brother spoke. "Peace, brother. Please forgive the Doctor his unaccustomed outburst. Remember that he has been a friend to our family for many generations. He has, after all, apologized."

The king's rage was mollified, somewhat, and he silently nodded for the Doctor to return to his seat.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" Pandora whispered to him.

"I'm not certain. I have no idea why I did that. I don't like not knowing."

"Yes, that, and you've rolled up your sleeves. I'm bloody freezing in here, and you're hot?"

"No, not particularly. I must have done that without noticing." He absently pulled his sleeves back down.

Madame Velsine watched them with a look of amusement on her face. "If I may continue, I was just about to get to the part where the Pursuit is willing to pay you for any acid we extract. So to sum up, we pay you for the acid, clear it out of the way, you can get to deeper, richer areas of the mines, increasing profits and introducing more trisilicate to a hungry market. Win-win." She sat back in her chair.

Peltanan cleared his throat, and the king stiffened. "Yes," he said. "Discussions are to begin in two hours, giving each of the representatives time to contact their homeworld and consider your proposal. Servants will show you to your rooms."

"Your majesty," Madame Velsine said quickly. "Could we be allowed to perform some exploratory surveying in the meantime, to ensure the composition of the acid is suitable to us, as well as prove out our capabilities to your miners?"

The king, who was caught mid-way to standing, looked nervously toward his brother. "Yes," he said, cautiously, then more firmly. "Yes, that should be acceptable. We will expect a report of your initial findings when we reconvene."

With that, everyone stood.

The same servant who had served Pandora during dinner, led the Doctor and her out of the dining hall and down an old stone corridor.

She noticed the Doctor's sleeves were rolled up again. "You did it again," she said, then she noticed he was holding a marker in one hand. There had been nothing to write on during the feast. "Doctor, what does one hundred eleven mean?"

The Doctor looked at her strangely, and saw she was pointing to his arm. He turned it for a better look. "It's not one hundred eleven, it's three ticks. Silence! How could I forget?" He wrote silence on his arm just below the three ticks.

"What does that mean, Silence? You yelled that at the king too."

"The Silence are these alien creatures, nobody knows what they look like. I've fought them before, and even I don't know. As soon as you see them — even just an image of them — if you look away, you forget them completely. There must have been Silents in there. Three of them. But what do they want? Is that who Madame Velsine represents? We need to tread very carefully, Pandora."

The servant stopped in front of a door. This door was identical to many others that they had passed, except this one was next to a portrait claiming to be of King Peladon II. "This is your room," she said.

They thanked her and dismissed her, and opened the door. There were two simple beds, a dressing partition and a washing bowl, as well as a familiar blue box.

"Hey, what's the Tardis doing here?" Pandora asked.

The Doctor glanced up at it, deep in his own thoughts. "They must have moved it up here from the mines during the feast," he said absently.

Then the Tardis door opened, getting the Doctor's full attention. Out stepped an elderly gentleman in a velvet tuxedo and matching cape with red lining. His shirt front was ruffled, and he was concentrating on some small device he was working with.

"You!" the Doctor said in surprise.

The man turned, startled. Now looking straight at them, they could see he was wearing a sort of stylized eyepatch over his right eye. He dropped his hands to his sides when he saw the Doctor. "What the devil are you doing here?" he asked.


	2. The Pursuit

"But you can't be here. I'd remember it if I had been," the Doctor said.

"Well, the answer's obvious, isn't it?" the fancy gentleman asked, a bit condescendingly. "You've crossed over into _my_ time stream. For either of us, these events haven't taken place yet." He held up the bauble he'd been working on when he stepped out of the Tardis. "That explains this. I hit a temporal membrane on the way in, and had a devil of a time getting through it. I thought the rematerialization circuit might be acting up, but it's fine. The problem is you."

"Will someone please explain what's going on here?" Pandora asked.

The Doctor didn't seem to notice her request. "Me? No, no. I've got the situation well in hand. You can just go right back to wherever you came from."

"' _Well in hand_?' You're going up against the Silence without the precaution of an eye drive. Pardon me if I remain unassured."

"What is the Silence?" Pandora asked.

"A race of aliens with a remarkable defense mechanism," the Doctor said. "You can't remember them if you aren't looking straight at them. I was beginning to suspect their involvement. See? I left myself a note." He showed off his arm, with the three ticks and the word, 'Silence'.

"'Beginning to suspect?' You didn't even bother to read the request, did you?"

"Doctor, who is this man, and what was he doing in the Tardis?"

The Doctor sighed and turned to her. "I've mentioned regeneration before. The thing that happens when a Time Lord dies. Pandora, allow me to introduce myself," he said with a gesture toward the older man. "This is the Doctor. He's the me that I once was. Doctor, this is Pandora, my companion."

"A pleasure to meet you, my dear," he said with a formal bow. He looked her up and down, then focused on her box. "And this, I presume, would be your famous box."

"I see you always thought you were funny," Pandora said wryly. "So, how come you and grandpa are here together? I thought that was dangerous, like if you shake hands with yourself the world blows up or something."

"Nothing of the sort happens," her Doctor said. "And why does he get to be grandpa? He's barely out of nappies."

"Steady on," the other Doctor said.

"Well, he looks older than you. How does that work?"

"Does he?" The two Doctors stood looking at each other for a while, like examining themselves in a funhouse mirror.

"I'll have you know I'm nearly six hundred years old. I'm in the prime of my adulthood."

Pandora looked back and forth between them and shook her head. "Anyway, what's up with the eyepatch? Did you lose an eye on some adventure? Does it grow back after a regeneration?" She leaned toward her Doctor and whispered loudly, "Is he the one that got shot in the back?"

"Ix-nay on the ack-bay," the Doctor said out of the corner of his mouth.

The other Doctor cleared his throat. "I can see you've already forgotten about the Silence again."

"What is the Silence?" Pandora asked.

"A race of aliens with a remarkable defense mechanism. You can't remember them if you aren't looking straight at them. I was beginning to suspect their involvement. See? I left myself a note." He showed off his arm, with the three ticks and the word, 'Silence'.

"Look, there's no use rehashing all of this. You're only going to forget again." He pulled a rather frustrated face. "If I knew I'd be running into company, I would have been sure to bring extra eye drives. Anyway, here's the invitation. Since you will be attending these discussions, you ought to have it."

"You won't be joining us?"

"And have to explain two Doctors? No, I rather think not. But this will free me up to explore. See what they're up to. If the Time Lords don't trust the Silence —"

"The Time Lords?" the Doctor said, he began reading the request that the Doctor had just handed him. "Oh, this just gets better and better. That favor's come due already…"

There was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" the Doctor called.

"Alpha Centauri," came the response in the hexapod's high voice.

"Perhaps you'd better get back inside your Tardis for now," the Doctor whispered.

The other Doctor nodded his agreement and stepped back inside the blue box, closing the door behind himself.

"Please come in," the Doctor called.

Alpha Centauri let himself in and closed the door.

"And how are you, old friend?" the Doctor asked.

"I am well, Doctor, but I came to talk about the queen mother. I think it would do her well if you found time to stop by."

"Yes. I noticed her absence at the feast. I trust Erimem is alright?"

"I'm afraid not, Doctor. You know how reckless she can be. She went out riding several nights ago, despite the storm, and the horse was spooked by the thunder. She was thrown and badly injured, but it was hours before anyone suspected a problem and she was discovered. The healers are doing their best for her, but…" Alpha Centauri let the rest drift off.

"Of course I'll come see her. There are bound to be breaks in the negotiations. No wonder the king seemed so out of sorts."

Alpha Centauri tapped his claws together nervously. "If only that were so. The king is always like that. But without his mother present to guide the negotiations, this will be his first true test of leadership."

"And what of the nobles? Does the king have their full support?"

"There have always been grumblings. Even before the twins were born, there were nobles who denounced them as half-bloods, but their mother proved herself to be a strong and capable leader after her husband's death, and no one dared to grumble in public. After her accident, however, the nobles have been grumbling more publicly, and asserting their power more and more. Things would be different if only Peltanan were king. I believe they would follow him."

"And what of Peltanan? What sort of ambitions does he have?"

"Seemingly, none. He's never been seen meeting with the nobles without the king present, he's never said a word publicly that hasn't been entirely supportive."

"All the talent and the morality of a saint as well? Hmm. A true rarity, if it's true."

"You think the prince may be plotting something, Doctor?"

"I wouldn't go that far, not yet anyway. But I don't want to rule it out. Of course, the opposite may just as easily be true. If you were on the throne, and your wiser, more capable brother were always at your shoulder, you might be tempted to do something to remove him."

"Doctor, I don't —" Alpha Centauri's words were cut off by the sounding of a bell. "It's time for the treaty discussion. We can talk later."

"You go ahead, old friend. I would like a quick word with Pandora before we join you."

Alpha Centauri bowed and left the room. Moments later the Tardis door opened up.

"Did you hear all of that?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. I had the scanner on. I take it you know this Erimem?"

"Yes. We travelled together for a time, and she decided to remain here after my most recent visit."

"Is that what happens to the people that travel with you? You marry them off to kings?" Pandora asked.

"It's happened once or twice, and it's not always kings. Sometimes it's environmentalists," he said with a sympathetic look toward the other Doctor. "What do you intend to do during our meeting?"

"I want to see what the Silence are up to in the mines. You should get a feel for who may be under their influence during discussions, especially if it's the king or his brother."

"Agreed. Give us a few minutes, to be sure you aren't seen."

* * *

The Doctor was doodling on his arm as they walked back toward the dining hall. Pandora watched as he drew something that looked like all those 'grey aliens' from abduction stories on telly, except he then dressed it in a suit and tie and made the tiny mouth look puckered. Suddenly a memory came flashing back. "I've seen some of those before! When Madame Velsine was talking earlier. They were standing behind her! How could I forget?"

"That's the nature of these creatures. You can only remember them when you are looking at them. Look away, even for an instant, and you forget they were ever there. Worse than that, anything they say when you see them hangs around like a sort of post-hypnotic suggestion. They can influence your thinking."

The Doctor was silent for a short time, thinking hard, but he stopped Pandora before they stepped back inside the meeting room. He held out his arm where she could see it, and spoke quickly. "I think that's who Madam Velsine truly represents. We have to assume they will be in there again. We can further assume that they'll speak to us and that we won't remember it later. Pandora, from the moment we go inside, you have to question everything. Anybody's motives could be influenced by these creatures, even yours. Even mine. If you find yourself feeling strongly about something, so strongly that you need to say something and convince others, probe that thought. Do you have a reason for feeling this way? Because if the answer is, 'I just do,' be very careful before you say it."

Pandora nodded.

The Doctor put down his arm. "Good. Now I'm trusting you to do that thing you do. Study the others around the table, if anyone is acting out of character —" But Pandora never got to hear the end of that statement, because a guard stepped out of the dining hall, and seeing them there, he held the door for them. "Thank you so much," the Doctor said to the guard, and ushered Pandora into the room.

The rest of the representatives were there already. The king sat at the head of a much shorter table, and the prince stood at his shoulder. Madame Velsine sat next to him, and opposite her, two seats remained open for the Doctor and Pandora. The Doctor sat down next to the king, and Pandora slid her box underneath the chair next to him, and sat down. Sslendak was next to her, and his personal guards stood not far away. Across from him stood Alpha Centauri, or whatever you called it when a hexapod did it, and at the far end of the table was the Nobility of Styne.

"I call to order, the three hundred eighty-fourth Galactic Council of Peladon to discuss a new treaty with the Pursuit, over acid mining rights and wealth sharing," the king announced. He had a ball of highly polished trisilicate in his right hand, and he banged it twice, loudly, onto the table.

"Thank you, your majesty," Madame Velsine said in an oleaginous voice. "You asked me to present our initial findings, and I have very good news. While it will take longer than we've had, to set up a mining demonstration, we were able to collect a few liters of the acid. Our scientists were quite pleased with the chemical signature. The strength and make-up of the acid are quiet suitable for our needs. We can pay you a fine price for it — say, ten thousand galactic shares per metric ton?"

The king flushed and his eyes widened, but he said nothing. Alpha Centauri clicked his claws together in a gesture that could have been either nerves or excitement. Sslendak put his fist down on the table and said, "And what share of that would go to the partners of the Galactic Federation?"

"Well, that depends upon the negotiations doesn't it? I'm sure the percentage would go up if we were made full members of the Federation."

"The Arcturans were not expecting this discussion to encompass Federation membership, only mining rights," the Nobility of Styne said.

"I like to think all options are still on the table. Now, I was lead to believe that you would be interested in reaching the trisilicate at lower levels. Perhaps you've tried removing the acid yourselves?"

"The acid disintegrated our strongest materials, and attempts at neutralizing it resulted in a toxic gas that ate through our breathing filters," Sslendak admitted.

"Or perhaps I was misinformed, and the trisilicate that you can reach above those levels is sufficient for your needs?" she continued.

"Our trisilicate deposits are sufficient for generations to come," the king said, defensively. He was silent for some time, and his look of anger turned to one of frustration. "But it is true, new access points are harder to create and less plentiful than expanding our current mines to greater depths would be."

The Doctor had been silently contemplating his own arm through this. "I'm curious, Madame Velsine," he said, "what do the Silence want with the acid?"

"The Silence?" Alpha Centauri asked.

"The beings you know as the Silence, Doctor, are an engineered life form more accurately referred to as the Priesthood. We do not represent the Silence, we represent the Pursuit. When the Silence broke off from the main body of the Papal Mainframe, so did the Pursuit. But, while the Silence intends to ensure that the Question is never answered, the Pursuit has other, nobler goals."

"Yes, but —"

"Doctor, could you please confine your questions to the matter at hand?" the king interrupted.

"Yes, of course your majesty."

"How quickly can you drain the flooded areas with your method?" asked the Nobility of Styne.

"We can safely remove ten liters of acid per minute initially, fifty-five once we are established."

"You speak of this as if the deal were done," the Doctor said. "Have you made up your mind so quickly?"

Sslendak pounded the table, and his guards stepped closer. "We have established the desperation of our need, and the singularity of her capabilities."

"And yet this planet remains a sovereign world. It is not yours to dictate what they must do."

"May I remind you, Doctor," the Nobility of Styne cut in, "that you are here representing the concerns of Earth. Let the king speak for himself if he has any concerns."

The king looked surprised at being brought into this. "Yes," he said, eyes darting in an almost panicked expression, "Our sovereignty is very important to Peladon. Our workers rights and welfare must be considered, and um, appropriate, um…"

"Compensation," his brother inserted.

"Compensation. Right. Appropriate compensation must be given."

Pandora could feel every hair on the back of her neck go up. She was suddenly more afraid than she could ever remember being, and she had no idea why. Her breathing was coming in rapid gasps, and she heard a sound behind her, like she imagined a crocodile would make. She turned to look.

"Then we are agreed," Madame Velsine said, bringing her attention back to the table. Pandora couldn't remember why she'd been looking the other way. "The Pursuit will pump out the acid, with all due safety concerns considered, allowing Peladonian miners access to the wealth of trisilicate available at lower levels. All that's left to discuss are terms, payment and remunerations."

"We can't rush into this with so much left undiscussed," the Doctor said. "For example, the mines are already susceptible to the occasional collapse. What effect will it have to remove several tons of liquid that is potentially stabilizing the faults? I'm surprised at all of you, not considering that yourselves. Research needs to be done." He looked at the king suggestively.

The king's face was going red. "As ruler of Peladon, I will consider both the safety of the people and their quality of life. Our entry into the Galactic Federation has afforded us access to goods and services we cannot manufacture ourselves, and our primary trading commodity is trisilicate!"

Prince Peltanan squeezed the king's shoulder again, and said. "Perhaps, your majesty, we should recess to consider what's been brought to the table so far?"

The king calmed himself. "Yes, I agree with the prince. Let us all take time to consider what's been said."

Pandora heard that crocodile sound again, and looked around unsuccessfully for the source.

The king continued, "We'll meet again in three hours. Until then, Madame Velsine, continue the installation of your equipment. I would still like to see a demonstration of what you claim you can do." The king banged the trisilicate ball twice on the hardwood table and set it down.

He stood, and the others quickly rose. The king and the prince left via the doors to the throne room, and the guards opened the doors to the outside corridor for the ambassadors.

* * *

Pandora retrieved her box and stood with the Doctor. He gestured for her to stay while the others headed for the exits. She looked at him questioningly, and he motioned her toward the throne room once the others had left.

Guards were stationed on just the other side of the doors, so the Doctor stayed back, Pandora pulling close to him and listening.

"I know. I'm sorry," the king was saying. "I wasn't ready for things to move along so quickly, but everyone was looking at me, and a king is expected to make decisions!"

"It's alright. Calm yourself brother," the prince replied. Pandora was struck again by how alike they appeared. If not for the crown one wore, they'd be identical. "Now that they're gone, let's just talk through what you think. We'll come up with a plan, and I'll help you with the words."

The king let out a deep breath. "The noble houses supply the mining foremen. If remunerations are insufficient, they will boycott foreign workers in the mines."

"Good. See? That's an excellent start. What else?"

"The workers, from the lower classes, won't work if it isn't safe enough, no matter what remunerations there are."

"Agreed. However, even they have been affected by the loss in profit from the mines by now."

"Exactly. We can't employ as many people if there's less work. They want to get down into the mines."

"So, should we talk to the nobles first? Get them on our side before returning to the table?"

"They already see me as weak! I should act decisively, then tell them why it's a good idea."

"Not all of them. And they are closer to the workers than you or I. Eventually, your words will filter down through them to the commoners. If we take advantage of that now, we may have a workforce, eager to return to the lower levels they had previously abandoned."

"Yes. I see." The king walked over to the throne and sat down on it, examining the ornate carvings on the arms as he stroked them. "But what of what the Doctor said? That removing so much liquid could cause mine collapses?"

The prince made a dismissive gesture. "He was only posturing. The Arcturans and the Martians were happy to steamroll us, and the Pursuit would be the ones to profit from it. The Doctor is a friend to our people, and threw up any objection he could come up with to buy us time, and perhaps a better bargaining position. It was quite clever. You should look for such opportunities in future."

"What's the use? You know I can't do that!" He stood up, removing the crown from his head. He walked quickly across the room toward his brother. "I'm no good at this. Here! Take the crown. You can do this better!"

The Doctor stepped into the room. "You know, you actually could," he said. The guards moved to block his path.

The Doctor held up his hands, showing that he had no weapons. He put one finger on each of the guards' swords and pushed them gently aside. "I can't tell the difference between you, and I've an eye for such things."

"It's alright, guards. Let them in," the prince said. "It wouldn't work. And he knows better."

The king placed the crown reluctantly back on his own head.

"Because you were marked at birth?" Pandora asked. "What's to stop you from just duplicating the mark? Then you'd both have one, and you'd be identical again."

"Like he said. It wouldn't work." The king shook out the sleeve of his robe, then pulled it back with his other hand. A glowing red figure of a stag was revealed. It appeared to be hovering just millimeters over his arm. While they watched, the stag startled, drew back on it's hind legs, then charged around his arm to come to rest in it's original position again. "They all know how to check. Once, when I had prepared a speech for days, and got every beat just right, Arcturus suspected we'd switched, and demanded to see it."

"The Nobility of Styne," his brother corrected.

"You see? It just comes naturally to you."

"May I have a look?" the Doctor asked. He held up the King's arm and viewed it from several angles. "Very clever. Talforian wave ink. Very expensive. Only practiced in one small world not too far from Arcturus." The Doctor released the king's arm. "Well, no matter, I've a brush back in my Tardis, and I'm a dab hand, if I do say so myself. I can whip you up a forgery that Rembrandt would be proud of. The question is, what do you two want?"

The twins shared a silent look for some time. Finally it was Prince Peltanan who broke the silence. "No. It was our father's wish. His majesty speaks only out of frustration. He can do this. It's just harder for him. But the things that you see in me — that would make me a good king, would also make me a good diplomat. The time is coming soon for Peladon to move out of the shadow of this federation, and to forge our own treaties with our neighbors. Not yet, but soon. And on that day, Peladon will require my skills elsewhere."

"The prince is right. There's a saying, our mother is fond of: 'Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.' It's true, but at the end of the day, it is my burden to bear. And as much as I complain, there are aspects of the job that my brother would find more difficult than I do."

The Doctor's eyebrows raised. "Admirable. Both of you. Well, should you ever change your mind, look me up. This doesn't have to be a prison sentence for either of you." He bowed to both of them. "Your majesty, your highness."

He and Pandora left the room. "Will we go and see their mother now?" Pandora asked.

"Soon. But not yet. We should find out what my former self has learned. I expect he's discovered something that will be of immense value in further discussions with the Pursuit.

* * *

They continued on until they reached their room. "What I'm most curious about, is what the Priesthood want with all that acid. I knew they were mining acid the last time I ran into them, but I was so concerned about my companion at the time, that it never occurred to me to ask why."

"The Priesthood?" Pandora asked.

The Doctor sighed and pulled up his sleeve. "These guys."

"Oh my god, Doctor, they were in the room with us!" A chill went down her spine as she suddenly remembered those figures, slinking about in the darkness around the table, telling them what to say. "And nobody else reacted to them! _I_ didn't react to them!"

The Doctor pushed the door open. "Yes. Neither did I." The bedroom was empty but for the Tardis. "Doctor!" the Doctor called out, knocking on the Tardis door. There was no answer. "He must still be down in the mines. We'd better go find him if we are to learn anything before talks resume."

They left the room and continued down the corridor past the rooms of other ambassadors. The Doctor stopped in front of a portrait of a young woman with red hair, wearing the king's crown. He felt along the edges of the painting and murmured to himself, "No, that's not it." Then he looked up at the sconces on either side of the portrait and finally settled on the left one. He pulled down on it, and there was a click. The portrait swung inward.

"Ah. After you, Pandora." She stepped through, and the Doctor followed, closing the door behind them.

They were once again in the dark cave complex beneath the castle proper. The distant sound of dripping water echoed off the walls, joining with their footsteps and the pervasive sound of the wind that chilled Pandora. The rock wall looked like granite with veins of a translucent quartz-like material running through it. "That must be the trisilicate everybody's on about."

"Yes. That's it. And with good reason. The vast majority of ships of this era use trisilicate as fuel, especially the navy of the Federation. And with the ongoing war against Galaxy 5, a constant supply could mean the difference between victory and defeat. This way," the Doctor said, pointing down a sloping corridor that wound off to the right.

"But, you know how it turns out, don't you? I mean, you must be tempted to pop off into the future and see if the trisilicate supply ever dries up to the point where the war effort fails? That way you can come back here and do something about it."

The Doctor stopped and turned to Pandora. "Now, listen carefully, because if you ever suggest something like that again, it will be the last time we travel together. The web of time is a delicate thing. As time travelers, whizzing about from one end to the other, we have a duty of care to protect it as well as possible. When we work to make a situation better, it is without knowing the outcome, and we are still causing damage to the timeline. The hope is that we are causing more good than harm. When you move into the future, just to influence the past, you are sewing together two events, then ripping holes in both. Worse than that, you are fixing yourself as part of both events. If something were to happen to you, it could have drastic consequences for the fabric of the universe."

"Okay, I'm sorry I asked," Pandora said, chastened. "It's just that, you and the other you, here at the same time. Isn't that kind of the same thing?"

The Doctor turned and resumed heading downward. "Not even just 'kind of'. If my life were one long string, it already zig-zags all over creation, and now we have two points in my own personal history where that string is knotted together. Now, zoom out and imagine all the other strings, all the points between then and now where my string contacts someone else's. The need has to be great indeed for us to risk that kind of damage to the web." He took a left turn at the next junction, and Pandora followed along.

"Do you actually know where we're going, or are you hoping we'll randomly run across your other self?"

"Actually, just this once, I do know where I'm going, though I don't know where he is. There's a natural fissure in the bedrock that goes down several levels. They used to refer to it as the Glory Hole. The tunnels run for several levels below us, and I've no way of knowing which level he's on, except, most of those tunnels connect in some way to the Glory Hole. Once we get there, we could call out along the various tunnels. There's a higher than average chance that we'll manage to contact him."

They came to another branch, and standing in the left passage was a tall, fearsome creature in a cheap suit, with a head like a skull. A couple more figures could be seen in the darkness behind it. Pandora grabbed the Doctor's arm, and immediately forgot why.

They took the right passage instead.

"Can you smell that, Doctor?" she asked. There was an acrid odor in the air that burned the nostrils and made her feel like coughing.

"It must be the acid," he responded. He lifted the front of his hoodie over his nose and continued on, taking a left at the next branch. They could see light coming from around the corner ahead.

As they rounded the corner, they came to a large open area with a ledge around it, leading to other passages. Just at the edge, an iron ladder was secured to the rock below them. Torches ringed the hole in the ground, and more light could be seen coming from below. Chains were suspended from somewhere above, some holding large iron carts of trisilicate ore.

"Watch your step," the Doctor said. He stepped cautiously up to the edge, holding the front of his hoodie over his face as he looked down. Pandora could no longer resist the urge to cough, but curious, she joined the Doctor at the edge and looked over.

The Glory Hole slowly tapered as it went down, and there was a ledge at the base of the ladder, then another, and another, each with passages leading off in all directions. Beyond that, was a bubbling pool with vapor rising out of it. As bad as the smell was in the passageway, their eyes now burned from the fumes. Pandora immediately pulled back from the edge.

"Hang on. I think I hear something. Pandora edged closer again, enough to see where the Doctor was pointing, but not far enough to expose herself directly to the vapor.

There _was_ some sort of commotion coming from one of the tunnels two levels below them. It sounded like the shuffling of many feet, then perhaps a voice saying, "oof!" Finally someone cried loudly, "Hai!"

The Doctor's face brightened. "Those were the days!" he said.

A worker stumbled backward into view, in orange coveralls and holding a massive spanner. He recovered and ran forward, out of sight. Seconds later there was a sound of metal on stone and another scream of "Hai!" and the spanner went skittering across the ground and over the edge.

Then the Doctor backed into view, his arms raised protectively in front of him. Another worker charged at him, and with a loud cry, the Doctor delivered a chop across the worker's neck, and he crumpled to the ground. Immediately, another worker came in from the other side, swinging a pickaxe in a broad downward motion. The Doctor side-stepped it and turned to face his assailant.

The worker recovered, and hefted her pickaxe, facing off with the Doctor. The two circled each other, feinting occasionally.

"Wow Doctor, you used to have some _moves_!" Pandora said.

"I'll admit I'm a little out of practice these days, but I remember my Venusian aikido, and I imagine I could still hold my own, if necessary," the Doctor said, somewhat defensively. "Let's get down there." He turned and started down the ladder.

Below, the Doctor was attacked from behind by the first worker again, now disarmed. He leapt on the Doctor from behind and got his elbow under the Doctor's chin. The woman with the pickaxe chose that moment to swing. The Doctor ducked, throwing the man off his back and into the woman before she could complete her swing. She dropped her pickaxe and struggled to keep her footing. The Doctor straightened out his jacket and returned to his defensive position.

Pandora and the Doctor got to the bottom of the ladder, and looked around for the next ladder. Finding it, they rushed over to it and started the climb down.

The Doctor saw them and smiled. "Well, it looks like the cavalry has arrived. If you give up now, I'll —" Suddenly he was hit hard from behind by a forth combatant, a brute of a man holding a shovel cross-wise. The two workers he was facing off against were swept over the edge and into the acid pit below. The Doctor fell to the ground, spreading out his weight to slow his slide. He came to a stop right at the edge.

"No!" the Doctor said, watching the fight. He took his feet off the ladder and slid the rest of the way down. He took off running toward the big man. Pandora was slower down the ladder, with her box in one hand.

The big man raised his shovel and brought it down edge-wise. The Doctor looked up just in time to see the blade coming and rolled out of the way, right off the edge.

He managed to grab hold of an outcrop with one hand. The big man brought the shovel back up and smiled broadly.

"No!" the Doctor screamed, and the big man turned toward him. The Doctor hit him full-force, knocking him back into the wall, his head slamming into it with a sound like a coconut.

The Doctor made sure he wasn't getting back up, then turned to reach for the Doctor, whose grip was slipping. He was scrabbling for a second handhold. "Reach for me!" the Doctor cried, but it was just too far.

"Here!" Pandora yelled. The Doctor turned to see her holding out the big man's shovel. He took it from her and turned back, only to see the Doctor lose his grip and fall into the acid below.

One big splash and he was gone. The Doctor flipped over onto his back, eyes opened wide in horror.

Pandora was hyperventilating. "What does that mean? What does that mean?"

"All my yesterdays… Everything I've done between then and now… My past… it's unravelling." He met Pandora's eyes, and a single tear ran down his face.


	3. The Traitor and the Treaty

"Oh, Pandora. I realize now, with my lives flashing before me, just how unprepared I am for this moment," the Doctor said. "There's so much I need to tell you! So much you need to know. But time is fleeting. I don't know if I have minutes or seconds, but very little is left before my death catches up with me." He swallowed hard. "I'll skip to the important stuff."

The Doctor scooted over to the tunnel wall and sat up, propped against it. "Pandora, I'm so, so sorry I'm leaving you. But you have a key now. The Tardis will respond to your touch. She'll take you back home, to the moment we left, if you use the fast return switch. It's the one near the door controls. The one that looks like a pinball plunger. Just pull that back, full stop, let go, and hit the big telegraph lever."

"No, Doctor," Pandora said, tears filling her eyes. "No, you'll regenerate. Like you said. You've done it before…"

"Not this time. There's no regenerating from a pool of acid. Right now, below us, all his cells are trying to regenerate, and dying all over again. And that was many lifetimes ago. I was never the one in the floppy hat and the ridiculous scarf. I was never the cricketer or the dandy. The warrior, the trickster, the swashbuckler, the femme fatal, the curmudgeon. I died barely out of my infancy… it's just taking it's time to get to me." He chuckled dryly. "It's got a long ways to go."

He sat up a little straighter, all trace of humor gone from his face. "None of that matters now. The truth is, you almost certainly won't even remember me. After all, we've never met. You just get to the blue box and let her take you on one last trip. Then, while you still remember, lock the doors and flush the key. You'll forget her too, and she'll just be an inconvenient bit of kitch in your living room. You'll send her to the dump, and someone will recover her and set her up as an art installation. Some sort of statement on post-Empire Britain, I suppose."

"Sorry, I'm wasting time with this reminiscing. Even that's not important right now. "Oh, Pandora. I know you don't like to talk about it, but indulge a dying man. It's your box. You _have_ to know! It's like the Priesthood. There's a reason you don't like to talk about it, why you don't want to think about it, or even look at it for very long. And there's something you need to know about yourself too! No time! No time!"

He gripped her arm with urgency and pulled her close. "Do you remember Thasos? When we were captured by — hmm. That's funny." The Doctor pulled an odd, thoughtful expression, letting go of Pandora's arm.

"What, Doctor? What is it?"

"Well, it's just that I thought I'd be able to feel my life unravelling. That I'd be forgetting things, or that details of galactic events would change because I was no longer there to stop them. But I don't feel anything."

"No, Doctor, you said it was important. What about my box — About me? About the Sea Devils?"

"Of course!" the Doctor shouted triumphantly. He stood up. All the mixed and varying emotions that had clouded his face were gone, replaced by a pure, manic certainty. "That wasn't _me_ that fell into the acid! Oh, clever Doctor! It must have been a flesh avatar!"

"A flesh avatar?" Pandora thought. The images coming to her mind weren't the sort of thing she wanted to ask about.

"Yes! The acid is too dangerous for humans to work around, so they create duplicates from a substance they call 'Flesh'. Creepy, I know. These duplicates are controlled remotely. There's a big old chair with lots of wires and fiddly-bits that keeps you psychically connected. If done properly, you might not even know you are operating an avatar, it feels just like you. The Doctor must be in the control center. We should find him! He came from this direction. Come along Pandora!" He kicked the shovel into the acid pool and stepped over the prone figures of the workers.

He headed off down the passage. Pandora stood there for a moment longer, under the weight of so much emotion and information, before running after him. "So, not dying then?" she called. "No 'timeline collapse' or whatever?"

"Not even remotely dying," he called back without turning. "The timelines of course, remain in danger, so long as both of us are here, but there's the greater good to think of now. More good than harm, focus on that for now!"

"But my box, all that… You said it was important."

The Doctor finally turned, but he continued walking as he regarded her. "I rather thought your mind would have wandered away from that topic by now, but don't worry about it. It's funny what suddenly seems important when you think you're dying." He turned back around. "Let's watch where we're going. Those workers seemed awfully hostile, we wouldn't want to run into any more unawares."

The Doctor stopped each time they reached another branch of the tunnel. He listened for sounds, licked his finger and checked wind direction, and occasionally squatted down and studied the damp stone floor of the tunnel. In the end, he always decisively picked a direction and headed off again.

Soon they came to another large chamber with artificial lighting and a half-dozen prefab buildings. Five of them appeared brand new, and of a different material than the last, which seemed to have been there for generations. A massive lorry with a petrol tank and flexible metal hoses in the back was parked near a wide tunnel leading up.

The Doctor approached the first prefab building and opened the door cautiously, then he pulled it wide, but motioned for Pandora to keep quiet. "You see?" he whispered.

She took a look inside, and found the inside walls to be filled with computer banks registering all sorts of real-time information. In the center of the room were a group of reclining chairs arranged radially, with wires connected from the headrest to the ceiling. There were people in orange jumpsuits in each of the chairs. The Doctor closed the door silently.

"The control room for the flesh avatars. My former self must have been in one of these rooms, though he likely disengaged when his avatar was destroyed. Still, best to check."

They quietly opened the doors to the next two buildings. The first had more workers stationed in the harnesses and helmets, and the second was empty. They came to the older building next, and the Doctor tried the door, but found it locked. He pulled out his sonic, and disengaged the lock, then slowly pushed the door open.

The lights were off inside the room. As the Doctor reached for the switch, a figure came out of the darkness and stopped just short of delivering a devastating blow to his neck. "Oh. It's only you two." The figure turned on the light, revealing himself to be the other Doctor. "Sorry about back there," he said, turning toward a rolling chair on the far side of the room. "Probably gave you an awful fright."

"Yes, well, I figured it out eventually, but you could have said something," Pandora's Doctor said, stowing his sonic in his hoodie pocket.

"Only, I was rather concentrating on holding on just then. I would have preferred to retain that avatar. Very useful for prowling about in hazardous areas. What gave it away in the end?"

"Your avatar wasn't wearing an eye drive."

"Ah." He swiveled around in the chair and pushed it across to the bank of computers on the far wall. "I couldn't figure out how to generate a second one, so I came in here hoping to find a reset switch. I ran across something even more interesting."

Pandora came close and set her box down on an empty seat. "What did you find?" she asked.

He switched on a monitor. "Security camera footage. It goes back months, and there are archives of older footage, but I thought I would look for when they set up these replication chambers. Now, the Silence only arrive today, correct?" he asked.

"Not Silence. These Priests call themselves 'the Pursuit.' But yes. Madame Velsine was late for the feast today."

"The Pursuit. Hmm. Given what they want to keep Silent, I wonder what they are Pursuing. But no, they didn't arrive today. This footage is from yesterday afternoon." He hit a few keys, and four grainy black and white videos began playing on the screen at once. One showed what appeared to be a massive hot tub somewhere in the mines, trailing cables and bubbling serenely. Another showed a tunnel entrance from the point of view of a larger chamber. The third showed the group of new buildings just like outside, and the last showed the inside of one of the buildings, with its circle of control chairs.

The tunnel entrance remained empty, but on the image of the building exteriors a group of figures appeared. The majority of them were tall and bald, wearing cheap business suits, but there were two others with them. One was a Peladonian, obvious by the unique hairstyle, in rich robes. The other was a standard human in one of the orange jumpsuits of a worker. One of the tall figures turned toward the camera as it opened the door. By now everyone recognized a member of the Priesthood when they saw it, even if they forgot soon afterward.

The interior shot showed the Peladonian being led to one of the chairs. He appeared to be going of his own free will, nobody pulled or held onto him, but he moved in an odd drifting sort of way, almost as if sleepwalking. He got into the chair the Priesthood indicated, and his face came into view of the camera. Pandora gasped. "That's the king! Or is it the prince?" He wore no crown, and his arm was covered. "They're duplicating him! But which one is it?" There was no way of knowing, so no one answered.

They watched, as the twin lay down in the chair, and the headset was raised up to contact his head. In another monitor, the hot tub began bubbling. They watched as the twin lay motionless, and slowly a figure formed in the tub. Eventually, the figure stepped, fully clothed, out of the tub and stood still. The Priests disconnected the twin from the headset, and he got out of the chair. He stood there, swaying slightly, and with a vacant expression, while the human worker climbed onto the chair, and they reattached the headset. The flesh avatar of the twin walked out of the camera's field of view, and shortly reappeared in the first shot, walking out of the large chamber and into the smaller tunnel.

Back inside the control room, the twin turned and put his arms behind his back. One of the Priests put him in some sort of cuffs, and gagged him, then the group left the building, and walked off the surveillance cameras. The human worker remained laying on the chair in the control center.

"Someone else can control a copy of you?" Pandora asked. She seemed quite unnerved by the idea.

Her Doctor confirmed it. "The Gangers are fully autonomous. Whoever sits in that harness is psychically linked to them, but when I last ran across them, a solar storm disconnected the controllers from the Gangers, and they proved to be quite independent. They've got everything inside their head to be _almost_ a person."

"I've searched all of these control rooms already, and that worker isn't in any of them," the Doctor said.

"There must be another set of these on another level. Any clue where they've taken the real royal Peladonian?"

"None, I'm afraid."

"And this was taken last night?"

"You can check the timestamp yourself."

"That means that one of the twins that we've been interacting with is a Ganger."

"A Ganger?" Pandora asked.

"Yes. Short for doppleganger," her Doctor said.

"Oh thank god," Pandora said. The two Doctor's looked at her quizzically. "No, it's just, that is _so_ much better than 'flesh avatar.'"

Her Doctor turned to the other Doctor. "You know where the flesh pool is anyway." Pandora shuddered at the name. "Your Ganger came out of it. The cables should lead you back to the other control center, and with any luck, they didn't move his highness far. I have to get back to the talks. The bell will sound any minute now, and we've got an imposter to watch. Come along, Pandora." He turned to leave.

"If it's all the same, I'd like to stay with, um, the Doctor," Pandora said.

Her Doctor turned back slowly, frowning curiously.

"Well, I'm not much use at the table. I'm not much of one for politics, but saving royalty? I'm all over that."

He turned to the other Doctor. "You okay with that?"

"I'd be glad of the company," the Doctor said with a cheery smile.

* * *

The Doctor was still climbing through the mines when the bell rang, announcing the resumption of talks. It was five minutes more before he entered the room. "Finally," Sslendak said impatiently. "Sit down. We've waited long enough."

"Where were you, Doctor? We sent a servant to your room, but there was no answer," the king said.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed cunningly as he took his seat. "Apologies, everyone. I went to visit the Aggedors and lost track of time."

The Martian grumbled, but otherwise, no one complained further. Madame Velsine looked amused when their eyes met. Something suddenly occurred to the Doctor. "No eye drive," he said.

"I beg your pardon?" she said.

"Nothing important. I've just never met an emissary of the Priesthood that didn't wear an eye drive before."

Madame Velsine took one well-manicured fingernail and tapped on her right eyeball, producing a clinking sound. "Eye drives have too many backdoors. And for the record, they are my emissaries, not the other way around."

"If it's nothing important, perhaps you can discuss it later," Sslendak growled.

"Of course, Lord Sslendak," Madame Velsine said. "Has everyone had time to discuss my proposal with their homeworld?"

"We have," the Nobility of Stein said. "Do you have further findings regarding your surveys?"

"We do indeed, and all progresses apace. Our equipment is being installed ahead of schedule" — the Doctor coughed conspicuously at this point — "And we should be ready for a mining demonstration this evening."

"Excellent," the king said. "I look forward to seeing it. Now, I believe we were discussing terms."

"Actually," the Doctor interrupted, "we were still stuck on the point of whether this castle might fall if tons of supporting liquid are removed."

The king looked upset at the interruption, but sat back silently.

Madame Velsine cleared her throat. "On that tricky note, part of the standard mining equipment we take with us everywhere, are both seismic sensors and sonar mappers. We'd be happy to demonstrate the stability of the bedrock later as well. I assure you, we have no intention of being buried here."

The king smiled and looked to the Doctor. "Objection withdrawn," the Doctor said, "Please continue."

Madame Velsine smiled broadly. "Excellent. During your discussions, did our entry to the Federation come up at all?"

Alpha Centauri clicked his claws nervously. "We… discussed it."

"And?" Madame Velsine prompted.

Alpha Centauri looked around the table, and Sslendak finally spoke. "Nothing is off the table, yet."

* * *

Pandora stood with the Doctor at the flesh pool. He was using his sonic screwdriver to inspect the cables running out the back of it, but she was fascinated by the bubbling liquid. "So this white stuff takes on their skin color, and their hair and clothes and everything?"

The Doctor looked up. "The inner workings of a cell are far more complex than any synthetic fiber. This 'stuff' is able to breath, pump blood, sense heat and pain. It can think. The fact that it can look like anything is probably the least remarkable thing about it. Careful! Don't touch it," he said. "You wouldn't want another 'you' running around here."

She withdrew her hand quickly. "No. Between twins, Gangers and the two of you, there are enough duplicates already."

The Doctor smiled and changed the subject. "This set of cables here, leads back to the control center we came from. That leaves either this bundle, or this one. If each control center has six seats, and there are five control centers in each node, they could have a small army down here."

"Ninety of these things running around? And if they die, they just make more… That _would_ make a heck of an army. But that's not their aim, is it? I mean, the negotiations upstairs would be pointless if they were just invading, right?"

"Yes, I believe you're right. So, which cables should we follow then, the left or the right?"

Pandora looked up the length of each set of cables, trying to picture the cavern from the security cameras. "Left," she finally said, not really sure either way.

"Left it is then. Shall we?" The Doctor spun in place, his cape flowing out as he did so.

* * *

"Sslendak, you weren't there for the beginning of the Federation, but I'm sure Alpha Centauri remembers," the Doctor said, turning to the hexapod. "It was your people, and the settlement of New Mars that brought about the Federation to begin with. Do you remember, my friend, how the Arcturans put so many safeguards in place, because they didn't trust the 'Ice Warriors?'"

"That term is reductive and offensive," Lord Sslendak said.

"No offense intended, Lord Sslendak, but that's what your people called themselves at the time, and it's why the Arcturans worried so much."

"Do you have a point, Doctor?" the Nobility of Styne asked.

"My point is two-fold. First off, the new applicants call themselves 'the Pursuit', but they haven't told us yet, what they are in pursuit of. If someone came to the table calling themselves Warriors, you know what you're going to get, and yet that worried your people. How much more worried are you going to be when you haven't a clue what their name means?"

"When the Martians came to us, they were refugees demanding equal status and offering little. The Pursuit is offering a great deal and requiring little. What they choose to call themselves matters little to us," the Nobility of Styne said.

"And your second point, Doctor?" Sslendak asked.

"I suspect everyone has forgotten what it takes to be a member of the Federation. Do the Pursuit even know what the requirements are? Bring out the Federation Constitution, that we may remind ourselves."

Everyone at the table showed their frustration in their own way — the Arcturan's chassis lights turned a deep red and blinked furiously, Alpha Centauri rolled his one large eye, Lord Sslendak hissed, Madame Velsine clicked her tongue, and the king fell heavily back in his seat — but nobody could raise an objection.

"We'll take a break while the Tome of Federation is brought to us," the King said. "Doctor, do try to be on time when we resume."

* * *

The Doctor and Pandora follow the bundle of cables up the winding and branching passages of the mine, past ore carts and storage lockers, racks of safety equipment and the occasional outhouse. The tunnel came around another bend, then widened ahead. In the wider section of the passage was another tanker lorry. Workers were connecting a hose from the tank to a push cart, while another one operated the controls from the cab of the lorry.

The Doctor held up a hand, and he and Pandora stepped into a side tunnel to watch them work. Once the hose was hooked up, the man in the cab started a pump. An indicator on the side of the cart told them when it was empty, and they shut off the pump, uncoupled the hose, and hooked up another cart. Once they'd finished with the second one, four of the workers headed down the passage, pushing the carts, and the last one got in the cab of the lorry with the driver. The lorry started up, and drove slowly up the wider tunnel.

The Doctor and Pandora pushed back against the side tunnel until the workers had passed, and resumed following the cables.

* * *

"Let him in," Erimem said weakly. "He is an old friend."

The guards let the Doctor pass, and he approached her bed. She held a hand out to him. "Help me sit up. It's not seemly to look down upon a queen."

"Of course." He propped up some pillows and helped her to lean up against them.

"Thank you, Doctor. Now, let me look at you." She pulled him close and examined his face. "You've changed. Or at least your face has."

The Doctor smiled. "You were right the first time. What's happened to you? I'm told you were thrown from a horse."

"Yes. Khnum. I called him that, for he is stubborn. I knew a storm approached, but even at my age I still like the wind in my face."

"You look well though, is there anything I can do for you?"

She smiled faintly. "That I look well is all because of the care I receive from my personal physicist," she motioned toward a bearded man who stepped out of the shadows behind the Doctor, "and my servant Sundara." She winced, then continued. "They help with most of the pain, but I'm afraid the damage is done. Damage to my spleen and kidneys could have been repaired, had they found me in time, but internal bleeding and sepsis… I'll be dead inside a week."

"Highly coincidental, the treaty taking place now," the Doctor said. He knelt at her side, and took her hand in both of his. "Erimem, try to remember. Was it really lightning that spooked your horse?"

Erimem looked confused. She concentrated hard, but then suddenly looked up, and all traces of worry left her. "Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor. Where are my manners? I've completely forgotten that I have guests."

The Doctor slowly turned to see that the bed was surrounded by several of the Priesthood. He stood up quickly and faced them, still holding Erimem's hand. "Doctor, don't be frightened," she said. "These are friends. We have such lovely chats."

"Oh, Erimem, you have been deceived," the Doctor said.

"Doctor," one of the priests said, reaching out a long fingered hand toward him, "you don't need to ask questions."

"Doctor," said another one, from the far side of the bed, "we are good for Peladon's future."

"Doctor," said a third, "you have no further objections to our presence here."

"Doctor," said another, "what is your true name?"

They were calling to him, from all over the room now. He held tightly onto Erimem's hand, as they pressed in from all sides, speaking in their hollow raspy voices, "Doctor. Doctor. Doctor."

The deep tolling of a large bell sounded somewhere overhead, and the Doctor looked up.

Erimem squeezed his hand, and the Doctor patted hers in return. "I have to return to the talks. It was good to see you. I'll try to visit again."

* * *

The cables led them to another chamber similar to the previous one, with several pre-fabricated buildings. The tanker lorry had come up the same route, and was now in the middle of the chamber while another worker spoke to the driver. The Doctor and Pandora held back while they spoke, unable to hear what they were saying. Then the driver and the passenger got out of the cab, and the three turned and ran toward one of the buildings.

Once the sound of the idling engine cut out, they could hear voices coming from the passage behind them. "Let's go," the Doctor said.

They ran across the chamber, keeping low, until they reached the side of one of the buildings. They crouched down, and watched to see if anyone was coming.

"This level is full of their workers. It's hard to believe none of the Peladonian miners have noticed," Pandora whispered.

"Yes," the Doctor responded. "The Priesthood undoubtably have a hand in that. And look here, Pandora." He was examining the floor at the base of the building. He scooped up some of the damp slurry and rubbed the gritty mixture between his fingers, breaking up some of the larger chunks. "It's started to form a crust around the edges. These buildings didn't go up last night either. I'd say they've been here closer to a week."

"Why so much subterfuge and espionage just to get their hands on some acid? Or is that a ruse as well? Do they just want a toe-hold on this planet? Is it the trisilicate they're after?"

"All good questions, Pandora. And I think I'm beginning to form a theory. Come on. That building is different from the others. I'd like to have a look inside."

It _was_ different from the others. It still had that modern, pre-fab look, but whereas the Ganger control modules were squat and rectangular, it was taller, barely fitting in the cavern, and rounded. There were large boxes built into the side of the structure at even intervals, but there were no markings as to what they were or what they did.

The Doctor tried the door, and found it unlocked. He pressed the latch delicately and swung the door open. The room inside was dark and featureless. He left the door open to let in what little light there was in the cavern outside. There were some tall, thin shapes lining the walls, but it was impossible to make them out in this darkness and at this distance.

They entered the room, and the Doctor motioned for her to stay there, and indicates that he's going to look around. Pandora clasped her box in both hands and watched him, while her eyes adjusted to the light level.

The Doctor held his hands out in front of him as he approached the shapes at the edge of his visibility. He touched one. It was metal, about the width of his upper arm. There were three of them, coupled to the wall at about chest height. He ran his hands along the length of them until he touched a joint. He felt a bit of dampness at the seam, then a burning on his finger. "Ah!" he cried involuntarily.

"What is it, Doctor?" Pandora whispered.

"It's alright. There's acid in these pipes. I burnt myself, but I'm alright now." He wrapped his cape around his injured finger and stepped back, following the pipes up the wall until he lost sight of them in the darkness. He stepped further back, hoping to see whatever mechanism the pipes hooked up to.

Instead, he saw the Priesthood. There were dozens of them, packed together tooth-to-jowl, hanging from the ceiling like bats, arms folded across their chests. They may have been sleeping, or at least, they weren't reacting to his presence. He reached out behind him and felt Pandora's shoulder. He grabbed hold and turned to face her. "Now, Pandora, I need you to be as quiet as possible. We are in terrible danger. You must remain calm, and quiet, and now, look up."

She did as he said, and barely kept herself from screaming. She'd seen these creatures before, though she'd forgotten it. On those occasions, she'd seen one or two, but now there were more than she could count, and they were Right. Over. Head.

A muffled sort of moan came from somewhere near the far wall, pulling away Pandora's attention. She strained her eyes as best she could, and thought she saw movement.

"Pandora!" the Doctor whispered urgently. She held up one hand in response.

She continued creeping closer, until she could make out a figure in robes, laying on the ground. She heard the moaning again, and hurried over. It was the prince. Or the king. She still couldn't tell the difference, and his arms were trussed to his side. He was gagged as well, so she slipped the gag down out of his mouth. He looked like he was slowly regaining consciousness. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe now," Pandora said to him. She turned and called over her shoulder, "Hey, Doctor, I found our missing royalty."

The Doctor rushed to her side, watching the Priesthood above them. They were moving around a bit more, and an odd, hollow clicking sound came from them, but none of them reacted. "Keep your voice down," he said, when he got to her side. "Yes, hmm. He seems to have suffered a blow to the head. See if you can get him out of here. Quietly though."

"What am I supposed to do, drag him?" she said, lifting her box.

"I see. Well, can you just leave the box here for a moment, while you get him outside?"

"No," she said, with a look that suggested the question was insane.

"Right. Well, do your best then. But quietly. There's someone else here as well." He pointed off into the nearby darkness, where Pandora could just make out another shape.

The twin seemed a little more alert now, so Pandora whispered, "Hey. We've come to get you out of here. Do you think you can stand, if you lean on me?"

He blinked his eyes, and found hers, a bit unfocused. He took a moment to process what she'd said, and nodded. He groaned with pain upon doing so.

"Ssh," the Doctor said.

"Here, let me help you," Pandora whispered, pulling on the ropes around his chest and helping him to sit up. "Okay, now, on three. One, two, three." She stood up, and he leaned forward, letting momentum help to carry him to standing. His legs were tied together, but he could lean on Pandora. He hopped a couple of times, and didn't fall over. "Okay, Doctor, we're going to get out of here."

The Doctor was trying to drag the other figure into an upright position. "Yes, fine. But do try to be quiet."

"Okay, okay. But why?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, look up, child."

She saw the Silence, as if for the first time, but managed not to scream again. "Why didn't you warn me earlier?" she hissed angrily.

The twin, following their gaze, looked up. "Look out!" he shouted.

* * *

"There! This one, for instance," the Doctor said, standing and pointing to a passage in the middle of the dusty, old Tome of Federation. "'A new applicant to the Federation must submit to random inspections of all cargo and logs upon request, for a period of no less that twenty standard Federation years.' Madame Velsine, are you prepared to abide by the laws of the Federation?"

"I don't see why not —" she started.

"Good," the Doctor interrupted, "then I'd very much like a look inside your cargo ship's hold and manifest."

"What, now?" Alpha Centauri asked.

"Yes, immediately. We need to know what we're starting with, who we're dealing with."

Alpha Centauri clicked his claws together. "I believe a certain amount of… trust… is beneficial to negotiations."

"I'm afraid I must insist," the Doctor said, "on behalf of the people of Earth, of course."

Madame Velsine stood up. "The Pursuit would like to withdraw its petition to join the Federation. Now, can we just discuss the issue of mining rights?"

The king reached across the table and closed the Tome with an echoing sound of finality. "Petition withdrawn," he said.

Madame Velsine returned to her seat, and wiped some imaginary dust from the surface of the table in front of her. She made eye contact with the Doctor, and the corner of her mouth curled up in a smile. "Check," that smile said.

The Doctor too sat down, slumped in the high-back chair. He hadn't expected her to fold so quickly. He could have drawn out negotiations for days with that book. He really had no plan left. Check, indeed.

* * *

The Priesthood above them turned their heads and uncrossed their arms, reaching out toward the Doctor, Pandora and the captives.

"Everybody run!" the Doctor cried, and began dragging his bundle toward the door. Pandora put her arm around the twin, and ran for the door, with her companion hopping frantically along.

The Priesthood started dropping from the ceiling, deftly flipping in the air to land on their feet. They reached out a hand toward the Doctor, and sparks began to fly around their fingers.

He managed to get his bundle to the doorway and heft it through. He grabbed the door and pulled it shut, just as the first bolt of lightning struck. He held the door shut and looked around. "There's an axe! Just there!" he motioned with his shoulder, while he fought to keep the door closed. Pandora quickly grabbed the pick axe and brought it to him. He wedged it under the door handle, and backed away.

The handle continued to rattle, but the axe was wedged in there too tight to budge. Bright white light could be seen flashing under the doorway, and a spot in the middle of the door was beginning to glow red. "That won't hold them for long. We'll need a more permanent solution." He spotted the lorry. "And I know just the thing. Pandora, you cut loose the captives, and I'll take care of that door."

Pandora pulled the gag off the face of the second captive, to reveal the one giant eye of the hexapod. It blinked at her blearily. It took her a moment to overcome the shock, but then she started searching for the knots to be untied. Since she had nothing to cut the ropes with, she started using her teeth to pull the knots loose.

She heard the sound of the lorry's engine turn over about the time she got the first knot managed. She looked up to see the Doctor perform a three-point turn and bring the tanker around toward them. She pulled Alpha Centauri a bit further back, and the Doctor knocked the pick axe out of the way, parking the truck across the doorway in its place. He stepped out of the cab and surveyed his work with both fists on his hips.

"That's better. If they burn their way through that door, they're going to get a face full of acid," he said.

"Doctor, look. It's Alpha Centauri."

"Hmm?" the Doctor said. He turned toward Pandora, and his face fell. But, he was looking past her, at the group of workers in orange jumpsuits that were gathering around.

* * *

The talks were going faster than the Doctor had expected, and he was at a loss for ways to slow them down further. He was clearly seen as being obstructionist by everyone present, any any argument he presented was quickly shot down. He surreptitiously reached into his inside pocket for his sonic screwdriver. He knew the setting that would send out a pulse, destabilizing the Flesh. He pulled the sonic out and palmed it, trying not to be seen. The sight of either the king or the prince turning into a puddle would certainly derail talks — but he would use it only as a last resort.

* * *

The Doctor stepped quickly between Pandora and the gathering workers. "Pandora," he said calmly, over his shoulder. "Double-time, if you please."

She started in on the second knot, talking quickly to Alpha Centauri. "Do you think if I get one of your arms free, you can clip these ropes with your claws?"

"I.. I'll try," he said. He seemed to be coming more into focus, despite the deep green bruise spread across his head.

"Hai!" the Doctor yelled, as he lunged at the closest of their attackers. Several of them backed away at the ferocity of his attack.

Pandora got the second knot undone, and one of Alpha Centauri's arms got free. She left him to work on his own bonds and returned to work on the twin. "Don't struggle. I'll have you out soon enough."

"Who are these men? They aren't our miners!"

"No, they work for the Pursuit. Those things that captured you." She bit into the knot and felt it starting to give under her teeth.

"I… I don't remember how I got here, who captured me."

Pandora sat up and started working the knot with her fingers again. "Neither do I," she said ironically.

"Hai!" the Doctor said again. One of the workers crumpled under his attack, and another made the mistake of charging him from behind. The Doctor stepped into his swing, planted his shoulder into the man's chest, and flipped him onto another of his attackers.

Pandora finished with the first knot and started biting at the next one. She'd just started to get it loose when there was movement at her side. She looked up to see Alpha Centauri flexing his claws. "I think I may be more suited to this job, young… lady?"

Pandora nodded and stood back. She was momentarily surprised that Alpha didn't seem to recognize her, much less know her gender, but she quickly realized that this was the first time she was meeting the real Alpha Centauri.

She turned to see one of the workers sneaking up behind the Doctor with a shovel. She swung her box hard, and collided with the man's head, knocking him down for the count. Unfortunately, this got some of the other workers' attention, and they started heading toward her as well. She had no idea how to fight. She backed toward the Doctor, so at least they wouldn't come at her from behind.

The Doctor continued to feint at them, keeping them back. Pandora held her box up and tried to be threatening with it.

Alpha Centauri finished with the knots, and the twin stood up. He pulled back his sleeve and held out his arm. His glowing tattoo shown brightly as it moved around his forearm. "I am Pelagor, King of Peladon, and I order you to throw down your arms!"

A few of the workers spared him a glance, but they paid him no more mind. The Doctor lunged at one while he was momentarily distracted, and grabbed his shovel, pulling him off balance. He finished with a shuto to the neck. "Hai!" he yelled, and the man went down.

The workers pressed closer.

"Pandora, get down!" the Doctor yelled, as one of the workers threw a spanner at her. She barely ducked out of the way, and it nearly hit the king behind her. This seemed to embolden the workers as they pushed forward, and the Doctor's group took a couple steps backward.

A roar came from the mouth of the cavern, and the workers stopped and turned. Aggedor was lumbering toward them with claws outstretched and tusks gleaming in the sparse light. There were a series of higher-pitched roars as well, and a group of child-sized Aggedors stepped out from behind the larger one. It roared again, and lowered its horn to attack.

The workers scattered, some dropping their weapons in their haste to run away.

"Aggedor!" the Doctor called cheerily. "Don't worry, Pandora, he's a friend of mine."

"She, actually," Pandora said.

"Now, how the deuce would you know that?" the Doctor asked, smiling.

"It's a long story."

Aggedor came up to the Doctor snuffling at his hand, and the Doctor pet her head. The young Aggedors crowded around him, tugging at his clothing. "Hello? What's this?" The Doctor bent to greet the little ones as well. "What have we here?" The Doctor pulled a bit of black cloth off of the claws of one of the young. "Pandora, do you recognize that?" he said, holding the cloth out toward her.

"Doctor, Alpha Centauri is here. That means that the Doctor is up there negotiating with a Ganger!"

"Yes, that thought had occurred to me," he said, standing. "As well as the king, it seems. We have to get the real king and Alpha Centauri up there."

"Don't you see? We can't show up there with another king, another Alpha Centauri and another Doctor! They'd have no reason to listen to us. The fake king might set the guards on us, or the Martian's guards with those guns on their arms. Someone might get killed before we clear things up. But someone must be controlling those Gangers! We should find them and disconnect them."

The Doctor's expression brightened. "There may not be time to find them, but we may not have to! All we really have to do is sever the link! Remember what my future self said about the solar storm! The Gangers acted independently when they were separated. We can recreate the conditions, if only I can get to my Tardis in time!"

"Ours is closer!" Pandora says. "Do you know the way to Aggedor's pen?"

The Doctor smiled. "Of course. But first I need to coordinate." He closed his eyes, and went stiff. "Contact," he said, then he repeated it several times. "Contact, contact, contact."

* * *

"Then I believe that's settled," the Alpha Centauri Ganger was saying. "I believe we should put it to a vote. All in favor of drawing up a contract, giving the Pursuit exclusive rights to the acid in the mines, say 'Aye.'"

The Doctor fingered the button on his sonic screwdriver. It was now or never.

"Aye," said the Nobility of Styne.

"Aye, said Lord Sslendak.

"Contact," said the Doctor, stiffening and closing his eyes. "Contact, contact, contact."

Everyone looked at the Doctor, surprised. "What is the meaning of this? More delays?" asks the Martian threateningly.

The Doctor smiled and opened his eyes. He stood up from the table and pushed his chair in. "Priesthood and gentlemen, as representative of Earth's interests, I am prepared to concede all points and sign on the dotted line. But first, you'll have to listen to a little story…" He began to pace as he spoke.

* * *

They got to the Tardis doors and Pandora pulled her necklace out. She fit the key into the lock and twisted it, pushing the doors open. "In you go," she said.

Alpha Centauri and the king stepped inside, and looked around in wonder. "Oh, my," the hexapod said.

The Doctor stopped in the doorway and took in the console room. "I see he's redecorated. I can't say I like it."

The Aggedors wandered inside after them, but paid no attention to the dimensions of the room, they merely started smelling everything.

The Doctor moved to the console and walked around, examining each of the wedges. "Is that the trans-dimensional locator?" he asked pointing at one of the controls. Pandora hadn't the foggiest, and her expression must have said so. "Must be," he said and moved on. "Ah, here's the vortex shielding matrix, and this must be the temporal stabilizer. Yes, it's all making sense now. Could you be a dear and close those doors?"

"That one I know," Pandora said. She ran to the console and flipped a lever. While the doors closed behind her, her eyes lingered on the nearby pinball plunger.

The engines sounded, and the lightning crackled overhead. "See, now that's completely unnecessary. How does he hear himself think?" the Doctor yelled.

"You get used to it!" Pandora yelled back.

"Right! Now if I did my calculations correctly, we should be in an orbit between the sun and Peladon. Activate the scanner, so I can aim a chronon beam into its photosphere!

Pandora knew where that was too, and flipped the switch for the monitor. A holographic image of the sun appeared in the air above the console. "Actually, that bit, I rather like," the Doctor said. He lined up his shot, and activated the chronon accelerator. The quality of light coming from the sun changed. It began pulsing, becoming more white, then more yellow and back. Suddenly a wave of light separated from the surface of the sun, and came directly at them.

* * *

Five minutes later, in the Great Dining Hall of Castle Peladon, the Doctor was wrapping up his speech. "And so, given the shared history of this august group, and in most cases, our forebears, we have a duty to the common good, and as the sun rises outside, I leave it to a vote of the people. What kind of day will this new dawn bring?" He ran to the windows and threw open the wooden shutters. "All! In! Favor!" He turned to face the group. He pointed at the Nobility of Styne.

"Aye," it said.

He pointed at the Martian ambassador. "Aye," he said.

"Madame Velsine?" the Doctor asked.

She sighed. "Aye, of course."

"Your majesty? Wait, no, hold on. Did everybody see that?" he turned and pointed out the window. Everyone followed his gaze, wondering what it was this time.

The sun was just over the horizon, and beautiful arcs of color were reaching out from it. They expanded, like ephemeral flower petals, in all directions.

What _is_ that?" Peltanan asked, leaving his spot at the king's side to approach the window.

The Nobility of Styne steered his protective chassis to get a closer look. The king and Alpha Centauri leaned in closer as well.

Suddenly the sun flared bright. Light streamed into the room, too bright to look at, and plasma arced across anything metal. The ambassadors turned away or otherwise shielded their eyes. The Martian guard's guns popped and smoked.

"An unfortunate side effect, that," the Doctor said pointing, "but this is where it gets truly interesting."

The light died down again. The room returned to normal, and it took a few moments for their eyes to adjust. The king slumped forward onto the table. Peltanan ran back to his side to see what was wrong, and behind him, Alpha Centauri fell to the floor.

"What did you do, Doctor?" Lord Sslendak accused.

"Hang on, I think they're coming around. Just let me help you up, old friend." He held out a hand, and Alpha Centauri grabbed it with one of his claws, pulling himself upright.

"There we are. Where were we? Ah yes, we had just gotten The Martian, Arcturan and Pursuit votes. We were about to get yours. Alpha Centauri, will you vote to allow the Pursuit exclusive mining rights to the acid flooding the lower tunnels?"

Alpha Centauri seemed disoriented. "I'm, sorry… Who are you? And who are the Pursuit?"

"Good question!" the Doctor said, patting him on the back. He adjusted his sonic screwdriver, and the tip glowed white. He shone his beam around the room. " _That_ is the Pursuit." His beam had settled on a creature lurking behind the table on the outskirts of the candlelight. It was tall, dressed in a cheap suit, and had a face like an elongated skull. It held up its long hands to shield its eyes from the torchlight. "Afraid I'm going to need your answer old friend, do we let them in?"

"No!" Alpha Centauri shouted.

The king stood up as well, staring at the creature. "No!" he shouted. "These creatures get nothing!"

"You see, Madame Velsine, you made a mistake." The Doctor kept one eye, and the torch beam, on the Priest. "Your Priesthood can get people to do what they want, so you paraded you victims down there to make flesh avatars of them. You felt safe in the knowledge that they would never remember. You also had the Gangers under your control until the solar storm that my colleague instigated. They were disconnected, leaving only the original imprint. And the last thing my friend here saw was that terrifying visage making him do something he didn't want to."

"I want you out of my castle, and off my world!" the king said, furious.

"Sit down, Pelagor," Madame Velsine said.

"What?" the king asked. He looked as if he'd been slapped.

She stood up. "I said sit down! This is your world, but I'm afraid your position still only affords you one vote. Alpha Centauri votes with you, but Mars and Arcturus vote with me. And Doctor, in case you've forgotten, you promised to 'sign on the dotted line'. That's a vote in my favor as well. According to the Tome of Federation, you don't get another vote. Four to two. I still win."

Then there was a noise that made the Doctor smile again. The Tardis was landing. "We'll see."

The Tardis materialized next to the table. "What is this now?" asked Lord Sslendak, standing up and backing away.

"That's my ship. And unless I miss my guess, we have a few more votes to tally."

The doors opened up, and out stepped the king, Alpha Centauri, and the Doctor.

"I demand to know what's going on!" Sslendak raged. "Guards!" His guards came to his side.

"King Pelagor of Peladon, what is your vote?"

"They don't get another vote, Doctor!" Madame Velsine said.

"Well, if your duplicates get a vote, I don't see why the definitive article should be denied theirs."

"I vote nay," Alpha Centauri said.

"As do I," said the king.

"And on behalf of the people of Earth, I'll break the tie. Nay," said the Doctor.

Madame Velsine sighed. "Plan B it is, then. Priests, kill them all."

"Now, madam, we'll have none of that. Pandora?"

The Tardis doors opened again, and Pandora stepped aside, letting Aggedor out. "You see, her nest is lined with cloth torn from their suits. It seems they've developed a taste for your Priests. And aside from a few scorched hairs, it looks like their lightning has little effect on them. So, either you leave now, or we let the hunt begin."

"You only have one beast, unless you count those babies. Do you really think it can take all of my Priests?"

"Silly me, forgot to mention," Pandora said. "We stopped off by your 'flesh pool' just before the solar storm hit. We made a few copies. There are dozens of Aggedor running around the castle and the mines right now."

Madame Velsine's face distorted with suppressed rage. "Fine," she said. "Guarantee me and my priests safe passage to my ship, and we'll leave."

"Just one more thing," the Doctor said, stepping in close to her. "What is it you are pursuing?"

She chuckled. "We've already told you twice. What makes you think you'd remember this time? Don't worry, Doctor, we'll meet again."

* * *

After Madame Velsine and the rest of the Pursuit left, the two Doctors said goodbye. "Are you sure you won't come meet Erimem with me?" the Doctor asked.

The Doctor smiled. "We'll meet in our own time. And I'd rather not have my first meeting with her be her last meeting with me. Besides, we've meddled in each other's timelines enough. I'm not sure how much of this I'm likely to remember anyway."

"Aw, come on. You'll remember me at least, right?" Pandora asked.

"Yes, well. How could I forget you, child?"

"Liar," she said, and threw her arms around him.

"Perhaps it will be enough then, that you remember me." He patted her on the back. "Keep him out of trouble, hmm?"

"I'll do my best," she said and disengaged.

The Doctor stepped inside his Tardis, and with a final wave, closed the door.

"We should be off too," her Doctor said.

"Yeah, I suppose. You don't really like to stick around for the aftermath, do you? Don't answer that. I already know. Just this once though, I'm really curious what happens with the three 'twins'.

"Oh! Yes. I spoke with them. The Ganger king is happy that he doesn't have to be king, but he wants to stay on and become an ambassador. The true king has now had a life-changing experience that may just make him a better king, and either way, he seems more committed to the job. As for his brother, who knows? Maybe he'll get his chance to step out of his brother's shadow now, and finally shine in his own right."

"I hope so. Okay. Erimem and home. What then?"

"Ah, Pandora. That's the beautiful thing about the future isn't it? Not knowing what's next."


End file.
